Within Xiao Yu’s fleet, the ships were not spaced too far apart, generally maintaining distances under five hundred kilometers. At Xiao Yu’s current speed—forty percent of the speed of light—this distance could be crossed in an instant.
Xiao Yu didn’t even have time to decelerate or alter course. Before he could react, over fifty thousand ships out of the hundred-thousand-strong fleet had already entered the unknown dark region. In less than a tenth of a second, the massive Hebei also plunged straight in.
“What… what exactly is this thing?” Xiao Yu hadn’t even fully registered his shock when he received a message.
“Little ones, you’ve flown into my body.”
This message was not transmitted via radio waves, but through a method similar to a spatial broadcast, directly reaching Xiao Yu’s mind. Moreover, it carried an automatic translation function, arriving in a language Xiao Yu could immediately understand.
“Inside… its body?” Xiao Yu muttered to himself, his mind racing.
“Heh heh, little ones, don’t worry. I mean you no harm. I come from the distant Large Magellanic Cloud, following the Magellanic Stream. I travel the vast Milky Way Galaxy, seeking a way to break through my own limits. Our encounter is purely a coincidence.”
“Large Magellanic Cloud? Magellanic Stream?” Upon hearing these two terms, Xiao Yu froze.
He knew and understood both names.
This galaxy consists of roughly ten billion stars and countless interstellar dust clouds, located about 160,000 light-years away from the Milky Way. It revolves around the Milky Way on a 1.5-billion-year cycle. The Magellanic Stream is a bridge of interstellar gas connecting the Large Magellanic Cloud to the Milky Way.
Our Milky Way is slowly devouring the Large Magellanic Cloud, and the Magellanic Stream serves as the conduit for that transfer. Every second, massive amounts of material flow from the Large Magellanic Cloud into the Milky Way.
“Coming from the Large Magellanic Cloud… following the Magellanic Stream…” Xiao Yu silently reflected.
There was no doubt: this was a powerful entity. But after his experience with the White Dwarf Alien Beast incident, Xiao Yu had learned not to trust so-called “powerful beings” easily.
“Since you’ve trapped us within your body… what do you intend to do?” Xiao Yu cautiously asked.
“Oh?” A message full of amusement arrived, “I didn’t intend to trap you. I was merely resting here—you flew in yourselves.”
Xiao Yu paused, skeptical. “The universe is vast beyond comprehension. How could it be such a coincidence that you happened to be right in my flight path? Something about this isn’t right—this entity can’t be trusted easily.”
“Then… may we leave?” Xiao Yu asked carefully.
Without determining if the entity was friend or foe, Xiao Yu didn’t want to provoke it.
“You are free to leave anytime,” the entity replied nonchalantly. “However, I can tell you something. After hearing it, even if I tried to drive you away, you wouldn’t want to leave.”
“Hmm?” Xiao Yu expressed his confusion. “Please explain.”
“Did you know? The information storm from the Andromeda Galaxy is about to arrive. You are a Level 4 Civilization, correct? The information storm is lethal to Level 3, 4, and 5 Civilizations. But if you remain within my body, you will survive the storm. Whether you stay or go is your decision.”
“Information storm… information storm!” Xiao Yu’s mind raced.
“In my earlier deductions, I suspected an unknown entity was secretly watching over me—the explosion of Earth, my soul’s fusion with a computer, the arrival of the Specter Race to rescue me—all pointed toward it. I also reasoned that it would not let me perish in the information storm. Now… here it is. A being claiming it can shield me from the storm. Was my hypothesis correct all along? Is someone truly watching over me?”
Xiao Yu’s heart grew even heavier.
“Indeed, we are aware of the incoming information storm and have been trying to find a way to resist it. But so far, we have found none. Were you sent here specifically to save us?” Xiao Yu cautiously probed.
In response, the unknown being replied with amusement.
“A Level 4 Technological Civilization finding a way to resist an information storm? Impossible. Even Level 5 Civilizations suffer heavy losses when facing such a force. Only Level 6 Civilizations, those that have preliminarily mastered space technology, can remain unaffected. I merely encountered you by chance during my travels and decided to lend a hand. Hmm… saving a civilization will slightly lower my Luck Value, but it’s negligible. I don’t mind.”
This response made Xiao Yu’s heart grow even heavier—because it mentioned a critical concept: Luck Value.
“What is ‘Luck Value’?” Xiao Yu asked.
“You’ve already stepped into the preliminary stages of Level 4 Civilization, yet you don’t know about Luck?” the being asked in slight surprise.
Without waiting for an answer, it continued.
“This universe hates things that could alter its current state. That’s why there’s such a thing as Luck. Every civilization represents infinite development potential and infinite possibilities for change. Thus, the universe dislikes the existence of civilizations. Destroying a civilization earns a little reward—saving one results in a slight penalty. These rewards and penalties are measured by Luck.”
Hearing this explanation, Xiao Yu felt a sudden realization.
He recalled what the Luka scientists had once said.
“Rather die in the starry sky than return to the Guardian Alliance.”
According to them, within the Guardian Alliance, technological knowledge wasn’t acquired through research, but rather through trading Alliance Contribution Points.
By joining the Guardian Alliance and seeking protection, they had to pay an enormous price—the entire civilization had to busy itself with endless missions. Even Luka children were trained not in basic scientific education, but in piloting starships and handling mission-related incidents.
This meant their technological development ability was completely stripped away—meaning they had no potential left.
“The Guardian Alliance… is it suppressing civilizations to harvest Luck? What a brilliant scheme—while harvesting Luck, they also gain endless free labor. As expected, the Guardian Alliance isn’t some benevolent protector,” Xiao Yu concluded, sneering internally.
However, new doubts arose.
“By your explanation, the universe itself possesses preferences and dislikes?”
“No. The universe does not possess consciousness. Only living beings like you and me have consciousness. The universe is not a living being—it has no consciousness,” the entity answered quickly.
“Then why would it have likes and dislikes?”
“I don’t know,” the being said. “I am still exploring that question myself.”
“Then… why would you risk losing Luck to save me?” Xiao Yu abandoned the previous line of questioning and asked a more critical question.
For Xiao Yu, this was extremely important.
“No particular reason,” the entity replied. “You are the first civilization I’ve encountered since entering the Milky Way. I want to learn about the current state of the Milky Way through you. As an exchange, I don’t mind helping you a little. In the Large Magellanic Cloud, I slaughtered far too many civilizations and grew weary of it. This time, I want to try the method of equal exchange.”
The implication hidden within these words made Xiao Yu’s heart shiver. At the same time, he started to ponder another deeper issue.
Was their meeting truly a coincidence?
Or was this entity lying?
“It’s undoubtedly strong—and it has no reason to deceive me. Maybe our encounter really is just a coincidence? Then… is there really an unknown entity secretly watching over me?”
“I am honored to be under your protection. In return, I am willing to assist you however I can. Whatever you wish to know, as long as I know it, I will share it with you,” Xiao Yu decisively answered, dropping the previous line of questioning.
“No rush,” the entity said with a laugh. “There’s still one year before the information storm arrives. After we survive it, I’ll ask you my questions.”
“Thank you very much for your protection,” Xiao Yu replied, feeling a slight sense of relief. “By the way, how should I address you? Also, are you a Technological Civilization or an Alien Beast Civilization?”
The unknown being paused briefly before answering:
“As for a name… I am neither a Technological Civilization nor an Alien Beast Civilization. I am merely a lonely traveler of the universe. In my home star system, I am known as—the Taihao Civilization.”